Diverse applications exist for a latching assembly which is initially closed and which may be opened upon command of an external signal. One such application involves a sonobuoy which is a device equipped with a hydrophone for detecting underwater sounds and a radio for transmitting them to a remote receiver. Large numbers of such sonobuoys may be launched by aircraft and it is necessary that within a predetermined time after impacting the water, the hydrophone assembly be released from each sonobuoy housing, and be developed to the desired depth below the surface of the water. What is required for this application is a latching assembly capable of retaining the stored hydrophone in the sonobuoy prior to its deployment and of releasing the hydrophone upon command, such as may be provided by an electrical signal. Moreover, the latching assembly must be reliable, compact and light-weight since the latter are important criteria in sonobuoy design, and low cost, in keeping with the large number of sonobuoys commonly employed.
The latching assembly of the present invention fulfills all of the foregoing requirements and while it is admirably suited for the sonobuoy application, the invention should not be considered as limited thereto.